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Pan-Seared Scallops over Truffled Shrimp Risotto

• 2 cups fish stock
  
• 1 cup water
  
• ½ cup white wine
  
• 1-½ tablespoons olive oil
  
• 1 tablespoon butter
  
• 1 shallot, minced
  
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
  
• 3 white mushrooms, minced
  
• 1 cup arborio rice
  
• ½ cup white wine
  
• 1 tablespoon cognac
  
• 6 medium peeled and deveined shrimp, diced
  
• 1 tablespoon black truffle tapenade
  
• 2 tablespoon finely chopped chives
  
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped Italian parsley
  
• truffle oil to taste

Combine fish stock, water, and first portion of wine in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a low simmer. In a large saute pan, heat olive oil and butter over medium-high heat. Add shallot and garlic. Cook 1 minute, stirring frequently. Add mushrooms. Cook 1 minute, stirring frequently. Season with salt and white pepper. Add rice. Cook 1 minute, stirring frequently. Add second portion of white wine. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer. When the wine is almost completely incorporated, add cognac. Start timing from here. Begin adding stock, water, and wine mixture about ¾ cup at a time. Cook until liquid is almost completely incorporated, stirring often, then add another ¾ cup. At about the 16 minute mark, add shrimp and tapenade. Stir well and continue adding liquid as before. At the 18 minute mark, start checking for doneness. I like it a just ever so slightly al dente, which should take around 20 to 22 minutes.

Meanwhile. At about the 15 minute mark, put a griddle or skillet over high heat (I use about 8.5 out of 10).

• 1 tablespoon peanut oil
  
• 10 jumbo scallops, preferably "dry," with the little "side" muscle removed, rinsed, and thoroughly dried in paper towels
  
• 1 tablespoon instant flour
  
• ¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
  
• ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

Spread flour on a large cutting board or sheet pan, mixing in salt and pepper. Lightly dredge scallops in seasoned flour, being sure to shake off as much excess as possible. You want a very, very thin layer of flour or it'll be gloppy.

Add oil to pan at about the 16 minute mark. At 17 or 18 minute mark, add scallopps to pan. make sure that you've got at least an inch of clearance around each scallop. If the pan is crowded, they'll stew instead of searing. Timing is critical. Pay very close attention. You want a rich golden sear on both sides, which should take about 60 to 90 seconds per side. Remember that scallop sushi is just fine, so err on the side of under cooking the scallops. Over cooked scallops are not much fun to eat. The scallops will be done when they are just firm to the touch. Make an OK symbol with your left hand. Tap the muscle between your thumb and forefinger. That's about what the scallops should feel like.

Just before serving, add chives, parsley, and truddle oil to risotto. (If you're not on a diet, add a tablespoon of unsalted butter too.) Mix well. Dish up in large pasta bowls and nestle ½ of the scallops on each plate.

Pesto Crusted Rack of Lamb with Rice Cooker Green Pea Risotto

Rack of Lamb

• An 8 bone rack of lamb, Frenched
  
• A tub of store-bought basil pesto, reserving 2 tablespoons for the risotto
  
• Panko bread crumbs
  
• Salt and pepper
  
• Olive oil spray

Season the lamb with salt and pepper and spray with olive oil Pam. Sear the rack on all sides in a preheated cast iron pan over high heat. Remove the rack of lamb from the frying pan and smear the meat all over with the pesto. (You probably won't need the whole tub, depending on its size, so be careful not to let any leftover pesto come into contact with the lamb if you want to use the leftovers for another purpose.) Press the bread crumbs into the pesto.

Place the lamb on a rack in a roasting pan. Roast at 350 for 15 minutes and finish with 5 minutes under the broiler for medium-rare. Let the crust brown, but don't let it burn. Remove the rack of lamb to a cutting board, tent with foil, and allow to rest at least 10 minutes before carving.

Rice Cooker Green Pea Risotto

• 1 cup frozen petite peas
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1 cup Arborio rice
• 1 shallot, finely minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons basil pesto
• 10 fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup white wine
• 3 cups organic, low-sodium chicken stock
• butter
• Parmesan cheese, freshly shaved
• salt and white pepper

Combine peas and water in a microwave-proof bowl, loosely cover and cook on high for 4 minutes. Strain peas and reserve.

Combine 1/3 cup peas, pesto, basil leaves, and cream in a Cuisinart mini-prep food processor and puree until smooth.

Set a Cuisinart 4 cup rice cooker to the cook cycle and add 1 tablespoon butter. When butter is melted, add shallots and garlic. Cook 1 minute to soften and add rice. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon.

Meanwhile, pour the wine into an microwave-proof measuring cup and microwave on high for 2 minutes. Add wine to rice cooker and stir with a wooden spoon.

Pour the chicken stock into a microwave-proof measuring cup and microwave on high 1 minute. When the rice has mostly absorbed the wine, add 1 cup of chicken stock and stir with a wooden spoon.

Check the rice occasionally and keep adding stock in one-third cup increments as needed. After adding another cup of stock, begin tasting the rice. When the kernels have begun to soften but are still pretty chewy in the center, add the pea puree and stir with the wooden spoon. Season to taste with salt and white pepper. Add the reserved 2/3 cup whole peas when the rice is almost al dente. As the rice finishes cooking, add additional stock if necessary so that the risotto develops a creamy sauce. Just before serving, finish with a pat of butter and Parmesan cheese to taste.

Total cooking time is about 30 minutes.

A mature California Cabernet Sauvignon would not be amiss

Dow 10 Year-old Tawny Port NV

I'm of two minds when it comes to 10 year old tawny ports. On the one hand, they're usually about 50% the price of 20 year old tawnys but, to my palate, deliver about 85% of the sensual experience of a 20 year old. Dollar for dollar they are the better value and therefore should be tipple of choice. Yet, all things considered, I prefer the 20 year old to the 10 year old. That last 15% seems to matter a lot. Must be some sort of declining (rising?) marginal something of something.

Having said that, this is a really delicious port. It is simultaneously bright and limpid in appearance, with strong legs. The nose is complex, ranging from cashews to dried apricots, with a touch of almond extract and vanilla. The palate is classic tawny port. English toffee, caramel, orange blossom honey, almonds, and espresso. I still like Dow's 20 year old tawny better, but this is a very fine port. Grade: A-

Stuffed Rack of Lamb with Roasted Root Vegetables

The Lamb

• 1 8-bone rack of lamb, frenched and trimmed of fat and silver skin
  
• ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
  
• ¼ cup tapenade
  
• ¼ cup sundried tomatoes packed in olive oil, drained and chopped fine
  
• 2 cloves garlic, minced very fine
  
• salt
  
• pepper

The Veggies

• 2 cups diced butternut squash
  
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces
  
• 12 oz. assorted fingerling potatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces (I used a package of assorted organic potatoes, which included red-skinned, white, and purple potatoes)
  
• 4 baby golden beets, peeled
  
• 20 cloves garlic, peeled
  
• 8 cipollini onions, peeled
  
• extra virgin olive oil
  
• sea salt
  
• pepper
  
• Old Bay seasoning
  
• dried Italian herbs

Preheat oven to 350.

I combined the root vegetables in an 8-inch square Pyrex baking pan. I didn't measure the seasonings or olive oil. Instead, I just eyeballed them to ensure good coverage.For my taste, you want a lot of coarse sea salt and oil. Roast in oven for 40-50 minutes, until veggies are done to your taste. I like them really soft, while my good wife likes them al dente. We sort of compromised tonight.

Meanwhile, divide the rack of lamb into 2 4-bone pieces. Using a long, narrow-bladed knife, starting at one end of each small rack of lamb, cut a slit in the center of each rack half, extending slit to opposite end of lamb, forming a tube. Spin the knife blade to widen the hole. Insert the handle of a wooden spoon into the slit, and twist to enlarge the slit as much as possible without breaking through the meat. Combine the goat cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, tapenade, and pepper (eyeball it to taste) in a bowl. Fill hole in each lamb rack with the stuffing mixture, dividing it equally between them. Season the outside of each rack with salt and pepper.

Heat your 12-inch Le Creuset skillet over high heat until a drop of water skips. Add lamb racks, meat side down. Sear until browned (about three minutes), turn and brown the bone side (another 3 minutes). Transfer racks to a roasting rack set on a roasting pan. Transfer to oven and roast 20 minutes for medium rare. Remove from oven, transfer to a cutting board, tent with foil, and allow to rest 10 minutes. Cut each 4 bone rack in half and serve with the root vegetables. You'll have enough veggies left over to reheat and serve with tomorrow night's meatloaf.

The stuffing drives the choice of wine, as it is the strongest flavor element in the meal. Lamb and olives immediately suggest Cabernet Sauvignon. But the salty intensity of the tapenade counsels against an old claret, whose flavor profile of cedar, tobacco, and leather likely would clash with the stuffing. Conversely, the astringent tannins of a young New World Cabernet also seem likely to clash with our stuffing. I opted for a 10 year old Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, whose tannins had mellowed but which retained plenty of fruit and also offered some earthy flavors of early maturity. It worked quite well.